gordon



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. P. GORDON. GIRUULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

No. 438,686. Patented 001;. 21, 1890.

THE mews PEYEHS co, wunrurnm, wAsnmcwN, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES F. GORDON, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE SHAW STOCKING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 438,686, dated October 21, 1890.

Application filed January 29, 1889. Serial No. 297,909. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES F. GORDON, of Lowell, county of MiddleseX, Stateof Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Circular-Knitting Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention in knitting-machines has for its object to improve the class of machine described in United States Patent No. 228,480, dated June 8, 1880.

One object of this present invention is to provide the machine with simpler means for elevating the needles for the application thereto of rib-tops; also to provide the yarnguide with a holder to hold the yarn while the rib top is being transferred to the needles, so that when the yarn-guide is turned down into proper position to again resume knitting the needles Will catch the yarn without any attention on the part of the operator.

My invention in knitting-machines consists, essentially, in a grooved needle-bed, its series of needles, a needle-elevating ring, a carrying-ring, with which it is loosely connected, substantially as will be described, whereby the said needle-elevating ring may be moved independently of the carrying-ring to raise the needles in the grooves of the needle-bed for the reception of the loops of a rib-top or knitted fabric, substantially as will be described.

Other features of my invention will be hereinafter described, and particularly specified in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 is a partial vertical section through the cylinder and parts of a knitting-machine embodying my invention, the section being in the line 00 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a top view of the part shown in Fig. 1, but with the web-holder bed shown in Fig. 1 removed. Fig. 3 is a detail showing the needle-elevating ring and drawing-down and working cams developed or laid out straight. Fig. at is a partial elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 2, looking at it in the direction of the arrow shown just above Fig. 2. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are respectivel y side, face, and top views of my improved yarn guide and holder, together with a needle. Fig. 8 is a detail of one of the guides q, detached from the drawing-down cam. Fig.

9 shows one of a series of like slides, which support the lower ends of the needles, which are lifted only by the working-cam; and Fig. 10 shows one of a series of like slides interposed between the fashioning-needles and the levers a for operating the said needles from the Jacquard cam.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the grooved needle-bed mounted on a plate a; T the fashioning or Jacquard needles in the said grooves; a a cam-carrying ring having geared teeth b Z2 shows part of a yoke or support for the said ring a u a ring having cams to actuate the web-holders s i the web-holderbed; a slotted plate; m a loosely-mounted stud having at its lower end a heart-cam n 2' a slide-lock; 192a workingcam connected thereto; 50 a Jacquard cam; 70 10 carriages; a levers acted upon by the Jacquard cam m to move certain slides sito elevate the fashioning-needles r employed in narrowing and widening the work, and 'r a yarn-guide pivoted to the ring u The parts so far described, with the exception of a notch at the upper end of each of the slides s and a change, to be described, in the shape and location of the working-cam, are substantially the same as in the patent 8o referred to, wherein like letters are employed to designate like parts.

The machine described in the patent referred to contained a cam-ring having aknitting-path, and above it a topping-pathinto which the butts of the needles were all made to travel by means of switch-cams when it was desired to elevate all the needles to apply to them the loops of the cuff or rib-top.

In the machine to be herein described I have provided a needle-elevating cam-ring to take the place of the cam-ring having the two paths described and the switch-cams, and to this cam-ring I have connected the drawingdown cam, so that it is raised and lowered as the ring rises and falls.

Herein, as in the machine described in the said patent, the needles employed in knitting when narrowing and widening is being done,

such needles being denominated fashioning 10o or Jacquard needles, d erive their movement from the Jacquard cam 00 through the levers n and slides 3 as fully described in the said patent, and so need not be herein further referred to.

It will be understood that the needles marked 0, or those which are never used in narrowing and widening or fashioning the work, are actuated only by the working or needle-lifting cam 13 and said cam is kept in working position only when circular work is being done, and at such time the Jacquard cam, having its center substantially in the same vertical plane as the working-cam, by being a little deeper than the working-cam acts to raise the fashioning-needles r so that the working-cam does not touch their butts, all as fully described in the said patent.

Herein,instead of the cam-rin g and switches referred to in the said patent, I employ a needle-elevating cam-ring b,loosely mounted upon the cam-carrying ring a it having connected to it loosely, as will be described, the drawing-down cam a the said ring I) lying between the ring a and the cylinder A, the said needle-elevating ring I) being provided, as herein shown, with cam-slots c, composed of in clined portions and horizontal portions at the upper and lower ends of the inclines, as bestshown in Fig. 3, into which slots enter suitable pins or studs d, fixed to or carried by the ring (W. I have shown the lower ends of the slots 0 as open, to thereby enable the said ring to be readily applied to or to be removed from the pins (Z and from the machine, when desired. This needle-elevating ring I) also has two straight slots 9, into which enter studs 6', projecting from guide-rods q, adapted to slide vertically in suitable guide-grooves in the ring a the said slots permitting the ring b to be moved horizontally with relation to the drawing-down cams a, which are fixed by screws 20 to the upper ends of the guide-rods q, the said slot-and-pin connection, however, between the ring I) and the guide-rods q causing the drawing-down cam to rise in unison with the ring I). The drawing-down cams a at their lowest point are enough above the ring I) to allow suflicient space for the passage of the butts of the needles between them. The working-cam p is firmly attached to the slide 2' adaptedto slide in the guides in the top of the ring a The working-camp herein shown is triangular in shape or inclined at both ends, whereas the working-cam in the machine described in the patent referred to was inclined at but one end. By inclining both ends of the working-cam the breakage of needles is prevented should the machine be started for reciprocating knitting, and for any reason the working-cam should not be withdrawn. The slide 1' is adapted to be withdrawn, as in the machine described in the said patent, at the commencement of reciprocating knitting, and is moved back into place when circular knitting is to be resumed or after the completion of widening, as in E) and 10,) which are cut away, as at 40, to receive the said extension, the said slides servin g to hold the needles in at the bottom. Vith this exception the needles and slides are the same as in the machine described in said Patent of the United States No. 228,480.

The needle-cylinder A is surrounded near its upper end by a spring-ring 0 having an opening which is closed by a gate 0, pivoted at 22 on an car 23, which may be secured to the said ring by a screw 24. The ring a rests on shoulders of the needle-bed at the upper ends of the grooves, and is made to travel with the ring a by means of a pin or stud 25 (shown in Fig. 2) of a stand or bracket 19, mounted upon the ring a which enters a notch or slot in the said ring. The gateo has a projection which when the gate is closed enters between the ends of and forms practically a continuation of the ring 0", the said ring preferably having its end beveled to engage a notch at one end of the said projection, so that the gate when engaged by the beveled end of the ring is held closed, as shown in Fig. 2. By opening the gate an open space is left in the ring, through which a needle may be quickly inserted or a butt removed when desired without taking the machine apart.

It will of course be understood from the foregoing description that the ring 0 is rotated in unison with the cam-carrying rings, and that the gate may therefore be brought opposite any needle or needles which it is desired to have access to.

The needleelevating ring I) has secured to it at its upper side (see Figs. 2, 3, and 4) a cam-piece h, and, as shown, the said campiece has a handle 0 by which to turn the needle-elevating ring about the cylinder A,

the said handle having co-operating with ita locking device (shown as a spring 1)") attached to the ring a and having a projection to enter a notch in a block or projection at the lower end of the handle. The ring (1 has pivoted upon it at 8 a lever j, one end of which terminates near the cam portion 29 of the cam-piece h, while the other end of the said lever normally rests in contact with the corner 10 of the plate 70 having the cam-slot 12, which receives the pin 13, rising from the slide i carrying the working-cam 19 The plate k is fixed upon a pin or stud m loosely mounted in the ring a and has attached to its lower end the heart-cam 01 as in the said patent. The handle part of thering b is locked in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4 when circular knitting is being done. WVhen the needles not to be employed in fashioning or narrowing and widening are to be thrown out of action, the ring I) will be turned by the handle b in the direction of the arrow 30, Fig.2, causing the cam portion 29 of the cam-piece h to immediately turn the lever j, causing it to act upon the cam-slotted plate and turn it, so that the cam slot 12 therein, acting on the pin 13, attached to the slide i will pull the said slide outwardly and with it the needle-operating or lifting cam p removing it from its normal position directly below the drawing-do wn cam a The first part of the movement of the ring 1), as described, effects the withdrawal of the working or lifting cam p and thereafter in its further movement of rotation the said ring I), by the action of the most inclined parts of the slots 0 on the pins d, causes the ring b to be lifted vertically, so that the upper edge lifts all the needles high enough to put them in position to receive the loops of the rib-top or end to be applied, the loops of the said top or cuff being preferably held by points of a transferer, as described in the said patent. When the working-cam is drawn out, the needles, the butts of which are above it, will be higher when the ring I) is lifted than the remaining needles, and such elevated needles will be pushed down by hand before applying the rib-top. The distance to which the needles are raised by lifting the elevatingring I) is such that the loops of the cuff or ribtop cannot get below thelatches, and the ends of the open latches are below the tops of the web-holders s and consequentlywhen the needles next descend the loops will not be cast off. The rib-top having been transferred to the needles the needle-elevating ring I) and its connected drawing-down cams are returned to their original positions, the drawing-down cam in its descent forcing down the needles below it, the working-cam 19 being, however, left withdrawn, and the yarn-guide is returned to its proper place for knitting. The cam-carrying ring a is now again started for circular knitting, and in its movement takes with it the ring I) and the drawing-down cams, the latter acting upon the butts of the raised needles, lowering them to be subsequently raised through the loops of the rib-top to take yarn and make stitches. Between the cam a, and the first of the fashioning-needles in the direction of the rotation of the ring I) the needles do not lose the stitches of the ribtop, for these stitches are held by the hooks of the needles above the latches; but as soon as the Jacquard cam 00 acts to lift a needle it pushes the latch through the loop of the rib-top held by the needle, so that upon the descent of that needle the loop which has passed below the latch will be thrown over and a new loop drawn through it out of yarn taken from the yarn-guide. While the J acquard cam is traversing over the series of levers a to actuate the so-called fashioningneedles, the working-cam p is automatically thrown into operative position, as provided for in the said patent, so that as the said working Jacquard cam leaves the endmost lever 11, and the working-cam arrives at the first one of the set of needles 1 it acts to lift the said needles to take them and knit, each cam 1) is hinged to the web-holder cam-ring a This yarn-guide has fastened to it a yarnholding device 8, (shown as composed of two spring-plates,) attached thereto by a screw 8, the said holding device serving to hold the yarn when the yarn-guide is thrown out of action, as when applying rib-tops to the needles, and for presenting the same to the needles, so that they will catch the yarn when knitting is again resumed. The yarn-guide r revolves with the cam-rings u and a The rib-top having been applied as stated andthe yarn-guide turned down in operative position, the yarn being held by the holder 3 is caught by the needles in their descent. After the first few needles have formed their stitches the new yarn becomes part of the web and in the continued movement of the cam-carrying ring the loose end of the yarn is drawn from the holder 5. i

In the patent referred to the drawing-down cam was part of a ring extended around the cylinder, and consequently when the butt of a needle was broken off in a groove it became necessary to remove all the needles and then the cam-ring before the said broken butt could be removed. By leaving the upper part of the ring 19 substantially unobstructed, as shown, the butt of abroken needle may be readily reached and removed quickly.

I do not desire to limit my invention to the exact shape of the slots 0, as I consider as within the scope of my invention slots of any shape whereby the ring may be elevated, and it is obvious that as a modification the camring 17 might have pins entering slots in the ring a which would be the converse but equivalent of the plan illustrated.

I claim- 1. The grooved needle-bed, its series of needles, the ring a combined with the needleelevating ring loosely connected thereto, substantially as described, whereby the said ring may be moved independently of the ring a to raise the needles in the grooves of the needle-bed for the reception of the loops of a knitted fabric, substantially as described.

2. The grooved needle-bed, its series of needles, the ring a combined with the needle- .elevating ring loosely connected thereto, substantially as described, whereby the said ring may be moved independently of the ring a to raise the needles in the grooves of the IIO needle-bed for the reception of the loops of a knitted fabric and With the drawing-down cam made movable with the needle-elevating" ring, and the Working or needle-lifting cam and its movable slide, the said Working-cam being adapted to be Withdrawn from operative position when the needles are to be raised, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. The grooved needle-bed, a series of needles, and ring a combined With a needle elevating cam-ring and the drawing-down cam connected. thereto, and together made vertically movable with relation to and independently of the ring a to operate substantially as described.

4. The grooved needle-bed, a series of needles therein, the ring (L3, and the needle elevating ring, combined with a Working-cam adapted to be withdrawn from its WOIklIlfI position with relation to the said cam-ring, so that all the needles raised by the cam may all rest in one plane on the said ring when the top is to be applied to the needles, sub stantially as described.

5. The grooved needle-bed, the series of needles, the ring (t the needle-elevatingring, and the drawing-down cams, and the working or needle-lifting cam and its slide, combined with the slotted plate connected to the said slide, the lever j, and the cam-piece connected to the said needle-elevating ring, the movement of the said ring. operating to lift the needles eifecting the withdrawal of the said working-cam from operative position, substantially as described.

6. The grooved needle-bed and the series of needles therein, and means to reciprocate them, combined with the yarn-guide, means to move it, and the yarn-holder for holding the end of the yarn at adistance from and to the rear of the needles and at a level below the tops thereof, whereby when the yarn-guide is put into Working position and revolved about the needles the yarn held by the said holder will be brought against the side and drawn across the front of the needles, to be readily taken by the hooks of the needles When the latter are descending, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JAMES F. GORDON. Witnesses:

GEO. W. GREGORY, B. DEVVAR. 

